Hypermedia information systems are very useful in many applications. One such application is training in a manufacturing environment. Although aspects of the present invention are discussed with respect thereto, such aspects remain generally applicable in all hypermedia information systems.
Manufacturing enterprises can employ hundreds and sometimes thousands of permanent and temporary system operators and technicians. Currently, a multitude of methods are used for educating and assisting such manufacturing personnel. These methods include informal, unstructured training sessions, printed `in-house` manuals, classroom instruction, and walk-through orientations to name but a few. In the manufacturing environment, the student population grows with every group of new employees, whether temporary or permanent. This student group is typically large and decentralized and cannot be released from the manufacturing line simultaneously to attend a standardized training course.
Interactive multimedia training and certification can present consistent subject matter, on a flexible twenty-four hour, seven day per week schedule. The subject matter delivered to the trainee is guaranteed to be consistent, thus avoiding reliance on a thorough presentation of material by a knowledgeable technician. Currently, with the use of printed documents there is always an uncertainty as to whether the line operator is using the most current version or whether an operator's training in fact covers a latest version of a processor tool upgrade. By making the information available on-line, positive control over the information being disseminated is obtained.
On-line hypermedia systems offer great promise for capturing experience and for providing multifaceted access to support a user engaged in a complex task. A primary issue in building such systems is how to structure the knowledge contained in them such that a user with a problem can find the most appropriate knowledge easily and naturally. In addition, such a system should learn from, and adapt to, its environment and improve its interaction with the user. Such adaptivity is necessary to overcome the inefficiency of traditional book model on-line systems, and to enhance the ever-increasing functionality of educational hypermedia information systems.
As a further problem associated with traditional computer-based training, such systems are typically based on a simple single user model. Regardless of the familiarity or lack of familiarity of the trainee with the topic, all trainees go through the same training process. A new employee who has never worked in a similar environment is given the same training material as an employee who has many years of related experience and might have been transferred to a new assignment from a similar area. Certification and qualification procedures are usually conducted orally in an ad-hoc fashion and are subject to a trainer's judgment and biases. In addition, there is no formal methodology for increasing the responsibility of a trainee as the training proceeds. In order for a computer-aided training system to acquire the necessary flexibility, it should distinguish between several types of students and structure the training material according to a student's needs, habits, preferences and background.
The present invention is directed toward solutions to the above-noted problems.